Even after they’ve reached their destination, migrant asylum seekers face a gamut of challenges, from housing insecurity to social isolation. To combat the latter, Soup International, a collective of graduates from the University of East London’s MA program in Interior Design, devised the Migrant Living/Nomadic Domesticities project to ideate a variety of community kitchen concepts and help migrants come together in a welcoming space — one where the making and sharing of food is central. Inspired by the efforts of Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers (SDCAS), which hosts workshops for refugees out of the city’s St Mary Newington church, the team began sketching proposals for easy-to-assemble portable kitchens that could be integrated directly into the church — a fire in 2016 had left the previous kitchen unusable for the combined moral support sessions and free shared lunches.

“My primary concern was trying to focus on themes like encouragement, participation and socializing,” explains Ayca M. Aydin, who designed Foldable Kitchen!, one of eight proposed models. “That’s why I developed a design which can be assembled and disassembled by anyone when needed, and can be arranged in different ways. This is a way of saying to people that they are involved in the process of creating their own space, giving them the initiative to adjust the design according to their needs.”

COVID-19 dashed the team’s dreams of realizing one of their models, but also proved the relevancy of their concepts, which feature outdoor-friendly materials and allow for physical distancing. The grads hope to pass on their learnings to the new batch of master’s students at their alma mater. “They may be able to improve and develop the concept,” says Ed Chelsea Rimando, who devised the Eco-Kitchen. “And I hope in the near future that these ideas will come into reality and benefit migrant communities around the world.”